An assessment of nutritional factors affecting the BMI of a population

This paper assesses some of the environmental factors relating to BMI in a very large and comprehensive household survey conducted in 1974 in Brazil and involving about 51,000 households in all parts of the country. In this study not only were the children and adults in all households weighed and measured but the household diet, socio-economic status and a variety of issues relating to household practices were assessed as part of a major national economic survey conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics with technical support from FAO. One of the authors (P.F.) was the principal collaborator from FAO.